I only revolver I own is those calibers is a .357, so if I got one of the larger ones I'd have to start stocking up on ammo for another caliber. It would be mostly for recreation, but if I ever decided to carry it bear hunting the .357 is too small.

I have one in a .357 and love it (also have several pistols in .357) I personally would not want any of those calibers for bear in a lever action. If you do not get a perfect shot all you'll get is a p.o. bear. Get the .357 for it's versatility and get an 30.06 for the bear. I love pistol calibers in a lever action, but I also want to live to a ripe old age!

I recently went shooting with a friend who has the Henry in .44 mag. It is a great shooting rifle. We were hitting pop cans at 100 yards easily. We found a load that works great in both his rifle and our pistols. We used the Hornady 240-grain bullet and 19.6 grains of Lil Gun. They were shooting at about 1300 fps out of my Super Blackhawk and 1530 out of his Henry.

Killing a bear that is browsing or unaware is not the same as killing one that is charging. 44 mag might work on a small black bear but it is not enough cartridge for an emergency shot on a larger bear unless you are cool enough and good enough to hit the nose on a charging bear. You might kill the bear but it will probably kill you back. Not too long ago a guy in Alaska killed a charging bear with a 454 Casull revolver. The bear was sick and starving. It was hungry not enraged. A healthy bear would probably have killed him. A 12 gauge shotgun slug has 2X the power of a 44 mag and it needs multiple hits unless you are lucky and/or very good. Before the 458 Win Mag came out some of the Alaskan guides were carrying African doubles. Some still do as they may have to protect their clients from a very mad wounded bear. Get a 45-70 or 450 in a Marlin. A BLR or an 1895 would also be a possibility in lever guns.

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